National Competition
| National Competition | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition: 2016 New Zealand rugby league season | |
| Sport | Rugby league football |
| Inaugural season | 2010 |
| Replaced by | Bartercard Premiership |
| Number of teams | 7 |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Holders | Counties Manukau Stingrays (2015) |
| Most titles | Akarana Falcons (4 titles) |
| Website | [1] |
The National Competition (previously called the National Zonal Competition) is the top level rugby league competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The competition replaced the Bartercard Premiership following a Sparc funded review and restructure of the New Zealand Rugby League. Seven teams compete in the competition each representing a Zone. These zones are: Northland, Auckland, Counties Manukau, Upper Central, Mid Central, Wellington and Southern.
Trophies and awards
Senior teams compete for the Albert Baskerville Trophy which is named after Albert Baskerville, the organiser of the 1907-1908 All Golds tour. Under-17s compete for the Mark Graham Cup which named after Mark Graham, the New Zealand Rugby League player of the century. Under-15s compete for the Nathan Cayless Cup which is named after Nathan Cayless, the only captain to win the World Cup for New Zealand.
Teams
In 2013 the Canterbury Bulls entered the senior competition, replacing the South Island Scorpions. However the Bulls still represent the entire South Island and the Scorpions still compete in the under 17 and under 15 competitions.[2]
| Team | Current Coach | Home Grounds |
|---|---|---|
| Akarana Falcons | Steve Buckingham | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland |
| Central Vipers | Mike Graham | Tikorangi Sports Ground, Waitara Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North Cooks Gardens Stadium, Whanganui |
| Counties Manukau Stingrays | Peter Caccioppoli | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland |
| Northern Swords | Joe Rau | Toll Stadium, Whangarei Arnold Rae Park, Kaitaia |
| Canterbury Bulls South Island Scorpions |
Mike Dorreen | Denton Park, Christchurch Trafalgar Park, Nelson Wingham Park, Greymouth |
| Wai-Coa-Bay Stallions | Morgan Kutia | Arataki Park, Mount Manganui Puketawhero Park, Rotorua Davis Park, Huntly |
| Wellington Orcas | Mike Kuiti | Porirua Stadium, Porirua |
Season winners
| Year | Albert Baskerville Trophy | Score | Defeated | Minor Premiers | Wooden Spoon | Mark Graham Cup | Nathan Cayless Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Auckland | 14 | 6 | Counties Manukau | Auckland | Northern Swords | Counties Manukau | Counties Manukau |
| 2011 | Auckland Pride | 44 | 34 | South Island | Auckland Pride | Northern Swords | Auckland Pride | Auckland Pride |
| 2012 | Akarana Falcons | 38 | 20 | Counties Manukau | Counties Manukau | Northern Swords | Akarana Falcons | Counties Manukau |
| 2013 | Akarana Falcons | 22 | 12 | Counties Manukau | Counties Manukau | Central Vipers | Counties Manukau | Akarana Falcons |
| 2014 | Canterbury Bulls | 40 | 8 | Waicoa Bay Stallions | Counties Manukau* | Northern Swords | Akarana Falcons | Akarana Falcons |
| 2015 | Counties Manukau[3] | 41 | 10 | Canterbury Bulls | Counties Manukau | Northern Swords | Akarana Falcons | Akarana Falcons |
| 2016 | ||||||||
*In 2014 Counties Manukau were disqualified from the final for fielding an ineligible player.
References
- ↑ NZRL Premiership nzrl.co.nz
- ↑ Canterbury Bulls team to make a comeback The Press, 10 April 2013
- ↑ Stingrays romp home in premiership final nzrl.co.nz, 17 October 2015
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